TomBettle

I'll second that. They're flat bottomed designed for use over the mud flats. Great for netting mullet and possibly sneaking in to creeks at low water. Wouldn't even want to be in the harbour in other than calm conditions.

You wouldn't want to go out of the harbour in it.

Sorry Rob First go and you pick the day after my wedding and second go you have picked the boat show! Would have been happy to help if I had been free.

Thanks Jim As you may expect, I was interested in the good ones, but thanks very much anyway. Cheers Tom

Jim Let me check what size tyres Abbie's 206 takes. They may be the same and if so I'll probably take them off your hands. If you haven't got rid of them yet, can you leave it until the morning and I'll report back... Tom

...Rob Any chance you can ask Dave to email the high res ones over of Parkstone Bay too. Cheers

Rob we may be interested in getting Dave to do some official ones. Can you ask him to contact me or Jimmy. Much appreciated on permissions... Tom

They are great shots Rob. Loved all of them, especially those of our marina. Would your friend mind if we used them? They are so current as some of the boats in those shots have only just arrived. Must have been pretty high too.

Yep much more efficient Adam. The downside is the servicing costs so the saving is pretty much equalled out, but it's the there and now saving and increased performance that does put a smile on your face!

Mike I was blown away by how cheap it was. 2 x 260Hp engines, nearly 7 tonnes and 6 knots faster cruise speed than Quest II, but only about 30% dearer on juice.

Rob didn't actually buy this boat from me. But he's sensible enough to know when it was getting the better of him and asked the sea school for some practical help. I would have packed my rods, but at 25 knots even the Channels Wahoo would struggle to keep up. On your point about the marine industry being "good", not me mate, have you not heard, I am the evil scurge of the industry after a foolish indescretion the other day! Prey tell Pm me I'll see you later. And tell you then!

Rob didn't actually buy this boat from me. But he's sensible enough to know when it was getting the better of him and asked the sea school for some practical help. I would have packed my rods, but at 25 knots even the Channels Wahoo would struggle to keep up. On your point about the marine industry being "good", not me mate, have you not heard, I am the evil scurge of the industry after a foolish indescretion the other day!

Jim It was horrible. It wasn't even that I couldn't stop and fish, but that I didn't even have a rod onboard! Driving over the Brittle Stars, my favourite wrecks, Hurds Deeps, past Speedy Rock, past the Schole Bank, back up the Swinge, past the Nannels and all our Alderney memories just a mile or two away. All of it so close... yet so very far.

Such a travesty. Just completed 2 days of own boat tuition with a customer aboard his Jeanneau Prestige 34. Joined by, Harry, his eleven year old son who kept himself busy with his DS. The idea was for him to gain confidence and competence in close quarters and so we started on Tuesday morning with a spot of pontoon bashing and learning about using twin engines. An hour or so in and the basics are sinking in, but it's pretty stressful stuff in a very tight space with anchors and tens of thousands of pounds worth of boats all around and poor Rob looked exhausted. "Do you want to go somewhere?" I asked him. "What, Poole Quay?" Rob replied thinking I simply meant a change of scenery and different pontoons. I explained that we could break up the pontoon bashing with a look at weather and tides and possibly do a proper passage plan to go on a cruise, much as he hoped to do when his entire family was with him. "Can we do that?" He asked. Too bloody right we can. That is what this boat does best and so we discussed the merits of a short hop to Weymouth or Lymington and ruled those out as he done them in his smaller boat. Brixham? Nice, but not too challenging. We chose Guernsey as it would be Rob (and Harry's) first ever channel crossing and in that respect a true adventure. We untied lines at Parkstone Bay Marina at 16:00 and headed out into a smooth sea. A very gentle swell kept the boat feeling like it was on the water rather than simply gliding through the air and we averaged a steady 22 or so knots all the way across. A pod of Dolphins joined us very briefly mid channel and were soon left prancing in our wake and then the usual extra caution through the separation lanes which were properly crossed at 90 degrees rather than the slight angle we have a tendency to take them at. Rob was a happy dangler rather than a serious angler, but he seemed keen to hear about the wrecks and fishing marks we were travelling above and was wowed by the depth finder dropping away to over 500' as we crossed the Hurds Deeps with Alderney off on the port bow. With a good shove of tide behind us we chose to pass Burhou to port and in no time and with fabulous visibility first Sark, then Herm and then Guernsey appeared as dark lines above the horizon. Another 45 minutes and we were running up the Little Russell channel and soon Rob was practising his new skills and holding station in what seemed like a very busy queue waiting to head in to Victoria Marina in St Peter Port. I've run the channel many times, but usually to Alderney or Jersey. Never having been to Guernsey I was firstly surprised by the organised chaos entering the marina. Great fun, but a little stressful for Rob and after tieing up by 20:30 I was then taken by how quaint (compared with St Helier) St Peter Port was. Next surprise came as we headed ashore and stumbled across a nice looking bistro called Diez Neuf. A recognisable face was sat at one of the outside tables, my customer and now fishing friend Dan Redrupp's dad Bob was just finishing dinner with Dan's brother. They had made the crossing a few days before in their Merry Fisher 625 and looked to be having a very relaxed holiday. Steak in garlic butter, a couple of cold ciders and it was bed time for me. Moored by the road wasn't great, but I got enough sleep to feel fresh at 07:00 when I shot off to the very good marina facilities for a proper freshen up. On return I found Rob facing his first experience of rafting up (three deep) as he and our friendly French berth neighbour were helping another French visitor slide out from the inside in their rather nice looking Fontaine Pajot Catamaran. A lazy breakfast for the three of us and we said Aurevoir to our neighbours in their new Prestige 39 at 10:00 and straight to the fuel berth. Firstly, I was bowled over by the fact we had only used 180 litres to run at a good cruising speed the almost 90 nautical miles from Poole along with some pontoon bashing before hand and then Rob was bowled over at the price of the fuel, just 72ppl! Result! "...no Rob you have to stop now, it's coming out of the breather pipe!" Leaving the fuel berth at 10.40 and a quick diversion 40 minutes later to take him through The Swinge. A gestured wave towards my good mate Mark at Alderney Angling (who text to say he waved back from the breakwater as he was helping with the childrens fishing festival) and then whoosh! The oily calm tidal swirls of the swinge were very suddenly and seemingly from nowhere dramatically interrupted by standing waves. The first caught us a little off guard, but the speed was quickly dropped from 25 knots at 2400rpm to a far more manageable and comfortable 16 knots as we reached our next waypoint and steered NxNE towards Poole Bay. After a few miles we left the tidal influence of Alderney behind and was soon back up to cruising revs. The ships in the lanes seemed stationary from 10 miles away, but as we got closer the white water from their bulbous bows was clear. The only interruption to the now smooth again sea was a slight bump as we crossed the wake of a bulk carrier half a mile astern and at 25 miles out the first hints of the Purbeck Hills could be seen. At 19 miles out the Bournemouth Eye could be seen going up and down with what seemed an endles stream of tourists and it made a great visual marker to steer towards to take us out a little wide of Peverel Ledge and Old Harry for a more comfortable run back to the Swash Channel. We met a Sunseeker Trideck heading back the way we had come and then once again the oily calm was distrubed by the weather conditions being affected by land as a stiff westerly five hit a a result of heat and thermoclines around the Purbecks. I tasted the first bit of salt spray of the cruise, but the boat was quite happy in the short chop and continued in with Old Harry a mile to port and home was in sight. Tied up back at Parkstone Bay Marina at 14:45, a quick break and another hour of pontoon bashing left Rob ready for the Channel, ready to cruise and feeling happy around his mooring. I hope he and his family have a great time with their new boat. They should do, she's lovely. A whirlwind channel islands trip. And not a fishing rod in sight!

Yes, I had a very similar story given to me and rather stupidly believed it until going home from the marina I kept recounting the story and wondered: 1) What do Sunfish eat anyway? 2) I don't think it is live bait style prey? 3) If it is, how the hell does that thing chase down a mackerel? 4) If it does, how the hell does it get it in that mouth!? Still, brilliant to see and a lovely twist to your day at sea. Nice one chaps! Tom

I have to say, I completely agree. Trolling is potentially a very dull and very expensive form of angling, but when you know the fish are there waiting to he caught the anticipation can be electric. Some species, Tuna for example are typically caught trolling, but essentially are big Mackerel and will take a bait in the same way as they will... once feeding fish can be found you can chuck plugs at them, jig for them, livebait for them, chunk for them, kite fish... all of these are very active and in the main visual. This is truly exciting fishing and turns our usual day on the wrecks on its head.

Well I have just discovered that ccurrently the UK has no Bluefin quota and so it is illegal to target them which means that from now on I will be mainly fishing for Bass when using 9" plugs or livebaits on downriggers... As a recreational Sea Angler on a non registered private boat how are you affected by quota's? In theory we are all held to ransom as the UK has zero quota for Bluefin both for commercial and recreational FISHERMEN. This means that Recreational FISHERMEN cannot target Bluefin in the UK and overseas they can only do it if following the rules and guidelines and if issued with a permit to do so. We have no permit as we have no quota! Now the observant amongst you may have noticed I have written FISHERMEN. There is a clear and understood difference between recreational fishing and recreational angling. Fishing is the use of any method to catch your fish, either for the purpose of sale or as food for yourself. On the continent many recreational fishermen do just this and use nets, traps and so on in order to catch several different species, often being sold to local restaurants and often being used for food. Those of us who dive for scallops or drop a few lobster pots for example would be classed as recreational fishermen. Recreational anglers are those of us who use rod and line for the purpose of sport, sometimes to catch fish for our own consumption, but never to sell on. These definitions are known, but do get blurred. I think it's time to keep these distinctions very clear.

Brilliant fish George, Well done!!! I haven't been back to Carteret for some 30 years! Went there on holiday as a kiddy and loved the place. No marina there then, just a sandy estuary full of mullet, a cracking market and wonderful sea food restaurant along with one of the best surf beaches a ten year old boy with a polystyrene surfboard could wish for.

Well I have just discovered that ccurrently the UK has no Bluefin quota and so it is illegal to target them which means that from now on I will be mainly fishing for Bass when using 9" plugs or livebaits on downriggers...

Yes, that would really pi$$ on your fire!!!!!!!!!!!! Next time I\we would like more pics of the rig and setup, also of the "blobs" on the sounder!!! You could do with one of Jims Bagutte roof holders for all those rods! Perhaps have it mounted on the transom! R Rob I have a very short video I need to upload. No voice over, but it shows the outriggers in more detail and then show the rods. Only about 30 seconds worth. No pics of the returns on the sounder, but rest assured this was a 12" screen, split down the middle with plotter on one side fish finder on the other. The water was roughly 30 to 40' deep and the soundings were more or less in the middle, closish together over about a 100 yard area maybe slightly more. It is a pure guess, but these soundings were barrel shaped and the indication was they were three to five feet long and maybe up to 18" deep. Bright red in the centre of the return fading to orange with only the faintest soft blue in the return around the very edges. I sware I am not making them up, JJ saw them as clearly as me and there were quite a number of them. That said, I cannot categorically say what they were, but the shape was certainly an indication.

I cannot possibly confirm what these large soundings were and I am not going to comment on where they were, but I saw the soundings with my own eyes. Next attempt will be a Bass fishing trip to the same location using livebaits both just under the surface and also on downriggers. Either drifting or very slow trolling. The hose idea is a good one and may well be employed. Be a right pain if those pescy Bluefin ruined a decent Bass session.

Tuna have been taken in nets of Keyhaven and likewise in Portland Harbour, but these are very small fish. Probably either young Albacore or small Skipjack. These are by no means unheard of and a few are caught right along the coast accidentally by commercials every year. They definitely aren't targetted as Albacore has very little commercial value. There have always been unusual or should I say unexpected species of fish all around our coastline. Don't be fooled into thinking Bluefin are a tropical fish or even an accidental visitor. They have turned up all around our little set of islands on a relatively regular basis. Jersey to the highlands to the western approaches, up the Atlantic coast of Ireland and through to the North Sea and way beyond into the Baltic and even arctic waters. They are not in large numbers and don't make their presence well known, but they have always been there. Always there, but only in real numbers when the quantity of food allows and when the commercials have laid off them and allowed them to recover from near extinction. I have a number of friends who are far less gobby than me that regularly target (regularly catch is not the right words) various species of Tuna and even some species of Billfish that are known to occasionally visit what could be considered "our" waters. Tunas Albacore, Bluefin, potentially Big eye, Sharks Thresher, Mako, Greenland Billfish White Marlin Slimmest chance of a Blue Marlin Broadbill All the above are theasbly targetted from boats running out of British, Irish and Scottish ports. Big game fishing takes many hours of hard slog, but sometimes the impossible does happen.

Not! Met up with John Jeffries at Weymouth just before sunrise yesterday morning to spend a day aboard his boat "drifter" after the mythical Bluefin Tuna that have been supposedly chasing bait shoals around the Bill. I had brough three rods along which were pre rigged and ready to run. 1) Penn Waveblaster 12/20 with TRQ100 real loaded with about 500 yards of 12lb braid topped off with about 100 yards of 20lb mono finishing in a double tied with a bimini twist to a big game swivel 2) Penn Waveblaster 20/30 and TRQ200 reel similarly set up 3) My treasured Alba custom built, "Tuna Tamer 30" and Penn Formula 15Kg John had bought his new Penn Innerguide 30 and Torium 14 and also a UK stand up stick rated 30/80 with a TLD 20. Despite the heavy rating and plenty of power, this rod was really rather nice. Within half an hour the boat engine was warm, John's rods were rigged with bimini twist doubles, big game swivels and 80lb five foot leaders and lures attached. Now a Raider 18 is a pleasant enough boat, but was never rigged with trolling lures in mind and so had no flush mount rod holders, but this was no problem. She did have a set of four "rocket launchers" on the transom and the fifth rod would be wedged in place and held fast by being tied to the lanyard of a bucket! A lovely orange glow was appearing above St. Albans Head as the first lure was set. Attached to the Alba rod a Rapala Magnum CD22 in purple and black was slipped right down the centre line some 80 yards or about 11 waves back. This was to simulate a struggling fish, left behind by the rest of a schoal. Typically we would have set this one deep on a downrigger and that was the plan, but with limited space to cobble a makeshift downrigger together we allowed it to run with out any hindererence. Next, outriggers! Yep you heard me, outriggers. Using the rail mounted rod holders on John's boat we employed two 12' beachcasters complete with reels mounted and line thread through the first two rings. Attached directly to the line were two Popper style lures with the hooks removed. These were sent back into the wash at about 15 and 20 yards respectively where they worked as small, but definitely effective teasers, popping and burping their way along and creating a nice little smoke trail behind them. A length of 100lb mono was now wrapped around the rail of John's boat and up through the remaining eyes of the "outrigger" before having a zip sider threaded on and the two ends tied with a swivel. It was now a simple job to send my 12/20 and John's 30lb rigs back to the 8th and 9th waves running 7" Williamson soft Mackerel lures. Using elastic bands clipped to the lead link on the zip slider they could simply be pulled out to the tip ring of the "outrigger" to create a spread of over 30 feet wide. Not bad considering it was being totally bodged. The final two rods had Rapala Magnum CD22s attached and these were run at about 25 and 30 yards behind the boat respectively and to keep them well apart more elastic bands were utilised to bring the line down to the cleat on each side of the transom. This had the added effect of creating a "flat line" to the water which allowed the lures to dive a little deeper. Now the rods stacked in the rocket launcher on the transom didn't look conventional, but we had an effective five lure spread running complete with two additional teasers. Drags were checked and set at about 4lb or so whilst running with the ability to run up to about 7lb at strike on the two lever drags and close to 14lb at sunset for these two. The other reels were star drags and more guess work was needed, but we were now running up the east side of Portland and trying to manage our expectations. Anyone who has trolled for Pelagic fish anywhere in the world will know that this can be a waiting game. You can go days or even weeks without seeing a fish, but it doesn't mean they aren't there. The hardest part for us was that this was our first ever go fishing for a fish that we suspected would be there, but had no proof apart from a spear fishermans picture. We were telling ourselves that this was nothing more than an experiment and don't expect too much, but this style of angling really is rather alien to UK boat anglers and so boredom and perseverance will always be the hardest things to control. Especially until techniques, knowledge and equipment are all refined. One thing that kept me positive was the belief, enthusiasm and trust that some truly great anglers / boat captains in the big game world had in what we were doing. Roddy Hays, Adrian Molloy, Trevor Gunning and even new big game captain Oliver King had all been enormously helpful with advice and sharing knowledge, not to mention quite a bit of kit in due course. I am proud to have these guys as friends of mine and their belief and genuine excitement in what we are doing back here in blighty was a tremendous boost. So with the sun rising to the east we headed south. Huge balls of bait were showing on the sounder as we kept to the relative shallows of this area and drove following the 20m contour line. A few birds eyed the teasers with interest whilst others sat lazily on the water. The odd gannet dived like a missile after the occasional Mackerel silly enough to stray near the surface, but hour after hour nothing. We tried to hold ourselves as close to four knots through the water as we could. We rounded the Bill, still following the winding path of the 20m contour and headed through the rough of the race and on down the western side. Back up on the 30m line and we began to head across to the Kidney Banks to follow their contour patterns. "That area screams Giant Tuna" were the words of Irish record holder, Adrian Molloy and they rang in my ears, but as we crossed back over the race even on a neap tied it was building into something very uncomfortable for a small planing hulled boat running at displacement speed and with green water rolling up the screen and confused waves washing over the gunnels it seemed prudent to turn back towards the Bill to face the conditions. The next couple of miles took literally three hours with our speed over the ground down to about 0.8 knots we headed back towards the mussel beds and the West Shambles Buoy. As the tide slowly eased we headed back along the original 20m contour and then doubled back across the shallower still 10m lines looking for the bait balls we had seen at first light. Little sign of the bait now, but this time and the only time our hearts began racing there were very definitely some very large returns on the digital fish finder display. No not the random blue with orange fleck "clouds" you see when passing bait. These were bright orange and red, at about 20' through 30' and the overall return of each coming back on the screen was a flattish oval shape. I cannot possibly say what these were for sure, but they were much larger than a Bass or Pollack return and each one was almost definitely coming from a single mid water object with each one being fairly uniform in size. Still, no hits, no screaming reels and no conclusive proof. A fairly long day doing something we really are not used to. Boring? Yes, in a way. Will I do it again? You bet I will! I need to find out what those big blips were!

Unconfirmed One of the local Weymouth marine engineers took a Bluefin yesterday on conventional tackle and a mackerel flapper on the east side of the Bill.

If I am incredibly lucky and do snag one then my first will most definitely be coming home. Not as a trophy, hut it will be bled and dressed by the time we dock, however if I caught more than one then the remainder would ne released. On the subject of frenzied... I drove Phil's dive boat on Saturday and there were an unusually large number of spear fishers launching from Kimmeridge, hut in Weymouth today not a hint of tuna mania.